Colossians 2

Chap. II. Ver. 1—20. Paul recapitulates his labours among the Thessalonians, and blesses God for his success. —In this recapitulation, St. Paul adverts to the shameful treatment he had received at Philippi, merely for curing a female slave, of whom her owners had made a gain by fortune-telling, as endowed with a spirit of Python. (See on (Acts 16:1-24).) He then appeals to them for the upright, tender, and disinterested conduct, which he and his brethren had shown toward them; and, at the same time, commends them for the cordial manner in which they received the message of salvation; ‘not (indeed) as the word of men, but (as it is in truth) the word of God,’ which ‘effectually worketh in (all) that believe.’

He next commends them for becoming followers (or seed) of the other churches, who had believed before them, and had ornamented their profession by a consistent conversation. St. Paul then adverts to the cruel and outrageous conduct of the Jews, his own nation, who having ‘both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets,’ now hunted the preachers of the gospel as if they were wild beasts, from city to city, and from one country to another; as we have seen in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. In this conduct, while they pleased not God, who had repeatedly reproved their conduct, they rendered themselves odious to all reasonable men, and particularly to the Gentiles. ‘The hatred which the Jews bare to all the heathen, without exception, as Dr. Macknight,) was taken notice of by Tacitus and Juvenal, and even by Josephus. This hatred was directly contrary to the law of Moses, which enjoined humanity to strangers.’ ((Exodus 22:21).) This aversion certainly increased after the captivity, and probably arose, in great degree, from the treatment of their oppressors; but was not justifiable upon the principles, either of Moses, or of God. This malevolence particularly discovered itself in their conduct with respect to the gospel, which, in some instances, they seem willing to have received, if so be that the Gentiles had been excluded from it; but the admission of other nations to the same privileges with themselves, seemed to them the most exceptionable feature of Christianity.

(See (Acts 12:6).)